


The Car Picks the Driver

by Helthehatter



Category: Bumblebee (2018), Transformers
Genre: Action, Angst, Comfort, F/M, Friendship, Optimus Prime - Freeform, Romance, Starscream - Freeform, Transformers - Freeform, bayverse, bumblebee 2018, bumblebee the movie, charbee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-19 22:03:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14882048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helthehatter/pseuds/Helthehatter
Summary: "At its core it's just a beautiful love story between two broken souls who find each other and heal each other"-Travis Knight





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Let's see how far I can get with this before the movie gets here. And while all the titles for the chapters are going to be from 80s songs I can't promise they'll all make sense and I apologize for that.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Say hello on a day like today
> 
> Say it every time you move
> 
> \- A Night Like This, The Cure

Charlie Watson was glad she’d never have to ride this rickety, rusty old motorcycle that was ready to fall apart the next time she hit a pebble. No more patching patches on the tires. No more having her little brother practically sit on her shoulders when she had to take him on errands.  
When she picked him up from his friend’s house today, Daniel would find his big sister in a car all her own.  
Ages of working at the town’s repair shop and working as a waitress for two summers (and resisting the urge to buy skittles every time she went to the store), she had finally saved enough to get a car. A specific car, to be precise.  
Yesterday at the repair shop she had been bragging to her boss on how tomorrow she’d head to the car dealership and find a vehicle. Johnny, the owner of the town’s junk yard, had overheard while making his purchase and mentioned he had an old car that had been sitting in the yard for ages. But last he checked it was still in working order and he offered it to Charlie for a much lower price than the dealership would for any of their lot. She trusted the man not to swindle her out of her hard-earned money and said she’d come check it out tomorrow.  
Arriving at the junkyard, sun on her neck and excitement in her eyes she parked her bike and fast walked over to Johnny who she had spotted tending to a flock of plastic flamingos. But the odd thing about the lawn decorations was the fact they were covered in black sharpie, some covered in stripes, some hearts, some male genitalia.  
Johnny-who had been muttering under his breath-lifted his head when he saw her walking over, “It’s by the front office, covered by a tarp, can’t miss it, go have a look while I…” he looked at the two circles and line drawn on a flamingo’s face with the expression of a broken man. “I’ll be with you in a bit.”  
After a wince of sympathy Charlie walked away to the trailer-sized building Johnny called his office. She saw the green tarp he had spoken of and stepped forward, a rush of acceleration flowing through her blood, even more so than before.  
This was big. This was a big deal.  
For some reason it felt more than just a teenage milestone, a right of passage. Don’t be silly, she chastised herself, It’s your first car, of course you’re overly excited. Finally she flung the tarp away, it almost fell in slow motion as it revealed the car hiding underneath.  
It was a Volkswagen Beetle, its bright yellow paint job showing past the layer of dust that coated it. I definitely wasn’t brand new; it looked like it had been ages since its engine ran. There was even a small bumblebee hive, hanging over a back tire.  
The Volkswagen was old and dirty and there were probably plenty of better cars at the dealership.  
But this car-this car was hers.  
“Heya, Handsome,” she smiled, opening the door and sliding into the driver’s seat. The seat was soft and firm against her back, and the driving wheel was warm and smooth against her fingers.  
“I should name you,” she thought aloud, “Always wanted to name my very first car.”  
Suddenly Johnny appeared at the open door, flamingo-less, “What do you think? I can even get rid of that bee hive for free.”  
Bee…Bumblebee…Perfect. Charlie smiled up at the man, “I’ll take it!”  
.

“So what do you think?” Charlie asked as Daniel buckled up into the passenger seat.  
The younger boy looked around, appraising the interior of the VW. “It’s okay I guess.”  
“Just okay,” she parroted with a roll of her eyes.  
As they made their way home her brother gave her a dubious look. “I thought the point of getting a car was to get one that wasn’t falling apart like your bike.”  
“He’s not falling apart like my bike!” Charlie insisted; said bike was currently strapped to the back of her new car. “At most, Bumblebee just needs a little tune up.”  
Daniel now looked embarrassed on his sister’s behalf, “You love your new hunk of junk so much you named it? And you chose Bumblebee?”  
“If all you’re going to do is talk trash you can keep taking the bus,” she threatened with a smile.  
“I love Bumblebee,” her brother quickly said, straightening up and losing the judgmental wrinkle in his brow. Charlie’s smile widened.  
But as they neared their home Charlie’s smile faded and the air became a bit thicker. The garage door was open, their dad’s car was there and Charlie carefully maneuvered her own car next to it, jokingly assuring Bumblebee he was much more better looking than her father’s car, which made Daniel roll his eyes as he got out.  
The two walked inside to see their parents at the kitchen table, their mom buried in a book, their dad a newspaper, each with a glass at their arm.  
“We’re home,” Charlie announced while her brother didn’t break stride on his way to his room.  
“Hi, sweetie,” her mom replied, not looking up.  
“I got homework,” Daniel said before vanishing.  
Charlie moved to make a sandwich, “I got a car; a yellow Volkswagen.”  
“That’s nice, honey,” her mother flipped a page.  
“Will you come see it in a bit, Dad?”  
“Hmm? Yeah, yeah, in a few minutes.”  
Withholding a sigh, her parents’ lack of attention wasn’t anything new, she fixed up her sandwich and ate in silence, the only sound the crinkle of turning pages. After she finished Charlie decided to go back to the garage, her chest feeling lighter when she saw Bumblebee.  
It was her car, she’d earned it. No one was going to take that pride away from her.  
Charlie moved to the table of tools in the garage, ready to see what fixing up it would need. First, she pulled out a cassette and put it on, the soft sound of A Night like This by The Cure filling up the room. She stood for a moment, listening to the music and mentally going over the tools she had at hand.  
Then she heard a noise.  
It was the car radio, she realized, it sounded like someone was hastily changing the channels, making an eerie static noise.  
Then there was the muffled sound of something falling hitting the floor, she turned around to see something had fallen off the undercarriage of the VW. Feeling a wave of dread she grabbed the flashlight on the table and walked over to the car, dropping to her belly to get a better look.  
A slab of yellow and silver metal had fallen, it looked…like an arm. The uneasiness still weighing in her chest Charlie couldn’t get herself to touch the metal, however she somehow was able to make herself crawl under the car to assess the damage.  
She had fixed plenty of cars while working at the repair shop, crawled under vehicles of all sizes. But like everything else about her Volkswagen-it felt different this time, though she couldn’t put her finger on why.  
With the flashlight flicked on Charlie ran the beam over the undercarriage. Despite the ‘metal arm’ (that was still attached to the car but she’d deal with that in a moment) everything else seemed perfectly-was that a face!?  
Charlie jolted, the flashlight going back to the space directly over her face, the pattern of metal plating did look like a face. And as creepy as it was, Charlie was also intrigued. She stared at it for a moment, silent except for the music playing in the background.  
But then-quick as a blink-two glowing blue orbs appeared in the face, staring directly at Charlie.  
Eyes.  
Charlie stilled in shock, watching in an awed and terrified silence as her car started to move on its own. The doors twisted, the tires slid gears and plating, steel and glass warped and turned and connected over her. And when it finally stopped…  
A humanoid creature stood before her, its head nearly brushing the garage ceiling. It was still the Volkswagen, but it had changed…transformed…into a robot!  
Finally Charlie moved, but only to scramble back a few feet, it felt like the wind had been knocked out of her and she couldn’t call to her family.  
The moment the robot had stood, it stumbled, as if not used to being on its feet-or hadn’t stood in a long time. Then its brilliant blue eyes turned back to her and she waited, expecting it to lunge and crush her, to destroy the garage and escape. But instead it looked as wary and scared as her, and instead of moving forward it stepped back, away from her and pressed itself into a corner, curling into itself, its eyes never leaving her. It acted like a frightened child.  
After a long moment of just staring at each other, Charlie finally worked up the courage to speak: “Who are you?”  
The robot tightened its arms around itself, its mouth less expression appearing skeptical.  
“Do you speak?”  
After a moment it shook its head no, so it could understand her. That was good she guessed. Charlie slowly stood up, legs shaking. She was still scared but, much more curious. Despite its size the robot didn’t feel as scary as it should’ve been, and it was hard to be intimidated by something that pressed against the wall, shying away from her.  
She took a few steps forward and the robot tensed up. “It’s okay,” she didn’t want it to fear her. She tried holding up her hands, palms out, like it was a giant skittish dog. “I won’t hurt you,” she promised.  
The robot glanced at her hands, then to her, then back again. She kept her hands still though she didn’t believe anything would come out of it.  
However it was then the robot slowly leaned forward. She waited for him to reach out its hand (did it know what a hand shake was?) but no, its hands didn’t move. It leaned its head down and-surprising Charlie-placed its cheek against the palm of her hand, closing its eyes. She cupped the gray plating instinctively, warm like a living thing, and the robot’s entire body relaxed.  
Any trace of fear evaporated between the two almost instantly. Charlie felt a soft smile curl her lips, affection filling her chest.  
The Volkswagen was now sentient; it could now walk and understand her. But it was still her car… It was still Bumble bee.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song 
> 
> And I’ll try not to sing out of key 
> 
> -With a Little Help from My Friends, The Beatles

Footsteps reached Charlie’s ears and she bolted to the door that led into her house, the robot holding a trace of sadness in his eyes when her hand moved away.

Mr. Watson was just opening the door when his daughter rammed into the door, slamming it shut and startling her father.

“Charlie, what the hell?” he yelled from the other side of the door. He tried to turn the knob but it was already locked. “You told me you wanted me to see your stupid car!” Irritation oozed from his voice.

“I changed my mind,” she replied frantically, looking over at said car who wisely stayed silent.

After a moment she could feel her father roll his eyes. “The car’s a piece of junk, isn’t it?”

Charlie glanced from the robot, to the door, “ _Yeeesss_?”

The robot actually looked affronted by her answer.

“You can see it after I fix it up and wash it,” she threw out the excuse, “And that'll take a _while_.”

Her father snorted a laugh before Charlie heard the sound of his receding footsteps, for once glad he wasn’t invested in her life.

Letting out a shaky breath she leaned against the door so as not to fall on her knees. “Sorry,” she told the robot, “You’re not a piece of junk; I just don’t need my parents to know about you.” Steady once again she slowly walked toward it, “At least until I figure out what _you_ are.”

The robot slowly stood up, uncurling from the corner and watching Charlie circle him, awe in her eyes and a small smile on her face. “You’re amazing,” she breathed, “A real life robot...What’s your name?”

Its response was a series of beeps and Charlie blushed with embarrassment. It-he?-had already told her he couldn’t speak.

“Can I call you Bumblebee?”

He tilted his head to the left and blinked; a question in his eyes.

“Cause you kinda look like a bee,” she pointed out, awkwardly. “You’re yellow-” she waved her fingers over her head- “you have antennas.”

He lifted his hand to touch the antenna-like metal before giving out an agreeable beep. He looked down at her and it felt like he was smiling.

“Bumblebee it is,” she beamed with pride. “My name is Charlie Watson, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

.

The two spent the next few hours trying to figure each other out (i.e. Charlie ignoring personal space etiquette).

“You’re so tall,” she pointed out the obvious, standing by his leg that was the length of her body. “Man, lucky you can’t talk because I’d have so many questions.” She grabbed his hand that was bigger than her head, running her fingers over his knuckles, like the rest of him his hands were smooth and warm. “ Like so many questions. it’d drive you crazy.”

Just then the garage went quiet, the radio having run out of music. Bumblebee had turned his head to look at the radio, Charlie following his gaze before walking over to eject the tape, “You like music?”

When the robot smiled Charlie turned to her shelf of cassettes. She had seen that the car radio was on his stomach and she had to hide her devious smile when she found the cassette she was looking for.

“You know, Bee,” she said as she walked over to him, “Music can help you say what you’re feeling. Maybe you can use the music to talk.” She slid the cassette into his radio and music filled the room.

_“ Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down~”_

Charlie had only a moment to appreciate her brilliant joke before the cassette flew out of the radio, the girl quickly ducking as it whizzed over her head and smacked into the wall behind.

“Yeah,” she laughed shakily, straightening up, “I think I’m the only one on earth who likes that song.”

Bumblebee turned to her shelf of cassettes and knelt before it, his eyes scanning the list and Charlie idly wondered if he could read English. He then made to tap on one cassette but stopped half-way, probably scared he’d break it with the massive digit. Instead he just pointed excitedly, making a couple of beeps.

Charlie walked over and grabbed the tape, “The Beatles, huh? You have good taste, Bee.”

She slipped the tape into his radio and the music replaced the quiet. bumblebee leaned back, relaxed, one hand tapping in rhythm to the music, letting Charlie return to messing with his free hand.

They stayed in a companionable silence and Charlie, moving from his hand to his wrist, appreciated that she didn’t feel the need to carry out a conversation. For years she had always tried to fill in the silence in a group of people, having only recently given up on getting her parents into conversations. but she was comfortable with Bumblebee, with this giant robot’ s presence.

Suddenly there was a sharp poke to her side and she yelped in surprise, releasing Bumblebee’s arm and turning to him. The arm she hadn’t been holding hung between the two, Bumblebee looking ashamed.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she quickly reassured, rubbing the soft spot above her hip bone. “You just surprised me. But why did you do that?”

Bumblebee blinked, looking frustrated that he couldn’t speak. He tapped the arm she had held, and then pointed to her. Slowly realizing what he was getting at Charlie lifted her hand out to him, palm up, and Bumblebee took it, far gentler than she expected.

She smiled at the robot, watching as with one hand he traced her forearm and with the other ran his thumb over her palm. She had been so mesmerized by the texture of a robot that was as warm as a human being; she hadn’t considered how foreign soft skin would be to him. 

“You think that’s crazy,” she spoke up, “You should feel my hair.” She ran her fingers through it for emphasis.

Bumblebee took her up on the offer, reaching her fingers out and tentatively touching her hair. He blinked, looking as memorized as she had been a few minutes earlier and began to stroke her hair. Charlie giggled when he beeped happily, “I told you,” she smiled cheekily.

After a few moments she found herself staring at the symbol on his forehead. She had noticed it before but hadn’t given it much attention. Bumblebee was too busy playing with her hair to notice her staring-not until she moved forward.

“Bee...” she climbed atop his torso and reached up to trace the symbol, red and shaped like a robotic face. “What’s this?”

He tensed beneath her, whatever it was, it was important.

The music of the radio suddenly stopped, replaced by the whirling of the tape as Bumblebee forwarded and rewound it several times, until: “... _Friends_... _gone_...”

A chill went down e and she looked into his blue eyes, “What-”

Knocking on the door and she turned to it as her father’s voice called out, “This door better be unlocked when I get up for work.”

“Okay, Dad!” she called out, sliding off Bumblebee. She looked up at him with a worried crease between her brow, “I have to go inside now. can you stay quiet in here? As a car?” She continued when he nodded, “I’ll be back in the morning, okay? Goodnight, Bumblebee.”

She stood by the door as he transformed back into a Volkswagen, right where she had originally parked. With one last wave, Charlie unlocked the door and walked inside; wondering if this would all be a dream when she woke up tomorrow.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In touch with the ground  
> I'm on the hunt down I'm after you  
>  -Hungry Like the Wolf, Duran Duran

Charlie's alarm went off and her eyes popped open, her hair a mess and blankets wrinkled from a restless night of trying to get to sleep. But clearly knowing there was a robot in your garage could keep a girl up all night.

Still it wasn't hard to wrestle out from under her blankets, slamming the alarm button, and hurrying to fix herself up for the day. Even she didn't have Bumblebee to run to she also had her summer job at the beach boardwalk, and she had to babysit her brother.

Hair fixed and colorfully stripped uniform on and hand bag around her shoulder, she walked out of her room, knocking on her brother's door as she passed in the hall. "If you want a ride to the boardwalk you better be ready in ten!" she called before continuing on to the kitchen for some breakfast.

After fixing herself a bowl of cereal she carried it out to the garage. Her father's car gone but Bumblebee right where she had left him.

"Hi," she greeted softly, a part of her wondering if last night had been a dream. Buying a robot from a junk yard, that was too crazy to be true.

But then a happy beep came from the Volkswagen, just as soft as her hello and Charlie's smile widened.

She grabbed a stool and made herself comfortable, digging into her breakfast as she waited for her brother to come out. "I have to go to the boardwalk to work," she told him. "You okay hanging out there?"

"Are you talking to your car again?" Daniel asked as he walked into the garage, giving his sister a look that was a twist of pity and judgement.

"That sounds really snarky for a kid who needs a ride to the boardwalk," Charlie teased. But she felt a sense of unease, her brother was nosy and if she wasn't careful he'd probably start figuring out something was different about her car.

With breakfast finished the two siblings strapped into the Volkswagen and headed for the boardwalk for a day of work and fun.

"You brought your allowance, right?" she asked Daniel as they rode. "Now that I have Bumblebee to take care of I can't give you any of my work money."

"Yeah, I got my money," Daniel replied. "Now can you please stop treating your car like it's a living thing. I know you're desperate for a boyfriend Charlie, but you can't be _that_ desperate."

"I am not treating my car like my boyfriend," she said, her tone offended yet still carrying laughter. She wondered if the car even knew what that word meant. "Why can't a girl enjoy having her very first car that she earned with her own money without her ungrateful brother acting like he wants to walk?"

Daniel sighed, "How about this, then? You don't make out with Bumblebee when my friends are around I'll stop rightfully judging you for it."

"Deal," she rolled her eyes.

They spent a few moments in silence before the radio suddenly started to sing the Beatles. Charlie bit her lip to keep from smiling while her brother jumped, startled. "What the... Is it busted?" he demanded, tapping the radio with a finger.

"It's an old car," she pointed out, "Might just need a little rewiring." Charlie guessed Bumblebee would rather there be music than silence, she idly wondered if he had spent the night listening to the cassette instead of sleeping. Did he sleep? She had far too many questions for a robot that couldn't speak.

Arriving at the boardwalk she saw it was already starting to get crowded, people and other cars wove around them, hardly paying the Volkswagen any mind as they tried to get where they are going. Charlie kept her foot steady on the brakes, careful to keep her eyes out for any children that would run in front of the car. Behind her a truck wasn't planning on giving her any personal space, nearly touching the trunk of her car. All the while people tightened even closer around them, loud and slow.

Daniel let out an annoyed huff, "We have sidewalks so this exact thing doesn't happen."

"I know," Charlie muttered, just as annoyed. "At this rate I'm gonna be late for work and Slim will just _love_ that."

But then, all of a sudden, Bumblebee halted, making Charlie and Daniel jerk forward, their seat belts straining against them. The truck blared a long, angry honk behind them and the bystanders stared at them as they passed.

"I..."- _I didn't!_ -"Panicked..."

"Well, don't just sit there let's go before the guy behind us pops a blood vessel!"

A few agonizing minutes later, and no more sudden stops, Charlie finally found a parking spot, bringing Bumblebee to a halt with a relieved sigh. Even better the truck didn't park anywhere near them.

Daniel didn't waste any time unbuckling and climbing out, "See you in a bit, Sis."

"I'll be at the Taffy Shop if you need me," she called before he slammed the door. When he was out of sight she looked down at her steering wheel, running her hands over it. "Bee, I have to go to work now. I'll be gone for a few hours okay? You'll be alright, right?"

Bumblebee didn't reply but Charlie had no time to coax him, she just had to hope he'd mind himself and not cause trouble. "I'll be back. I promise."

.

A small, winged, creature stared down at him from the branch of a tree, yellow eyes glaring. He believed the humans called it a hawk, a winged predator. The thought made him snort and he considered giving it a spook with a "missed" shot. But not yet, now was not the time to show this small, pathetic world what he was capable of. He needed to do some hunting first, and then, _then_ he would have some fun.

"Not to sound like a broken record," his companion spoke, using the human slang he had picked up over the years. The speaker didn't like humans but for Cybertron's sake did he find their stupid culture entertaining. "But wherever we're going, is it to find the boss? Because he's probably rusting away somewhere."

He snorted at the thought, "Rusting builds character." He was aware they had a specific mission but with only the two of them here, what was the point of hurrying? Why not enjoy the freedom, enjoy the fact that they were the strongest and most deadly creatures on this planet. He glanced back to see if the hawk was still there, but the animal had flown away.

"Alright, not doing our jobs," his companion nodded. "Sounds like a plan, a plan that'll get us scrapped eventually, but a plan. So where are we heading and what are we going to do when we get there?"

He looked out through the tree line, to the darkening sky, it was almost time to hunt. "We're going to find an old friend. And I'm going to finish what I started."

He started to walk away and his companion followed him, excitement blazing in his eyes, "And then we can have some fun?"

He smiled, "And then, Barricade, we have some fun."

"This is why I let you boss me around, Starscream."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I'd really love to finish this before the movie, or even a new trailer comes out. (Cause it's totally going to mess up anything I wrote).  
> And originally I wasn't going to add the decepticons so soon but I can't wait for decepticons to be fun again.


End file.
